HONG KONG: A new study has shed light on how inadequate and uncoordinated conservation efforts coupled with habitat loss could force some migratory birds into extinction.
The study published in journal Science shows that more than 90 per cent of the migratory birds are not being adequately protected and this could eventually cause some of these birds to go extinct.
According to authors of the study, just 9 per cent of 1451 migratory birds are adequately covered by protected areas across all stages of their annual cycle, in comparison with 45 per cent of nonmigratory birds. Authors of the study attribute this huge discrepancy to the lack of protected areas along the entire cycle of migratory species, particularly across China, India, and parts of Africa and South America, indicating that global efforts toward coordinated conservation planning for migrants are yet to bear fruit.
According to the team, which was led by researchers from ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED), there have been instances where migratory birds ranges may be very well covered by protected areas in one country, but poorly protected in another. North Africa and Asia are the two regions offering the least protection, authors note.
Another interesting point raised by the researchers is that the wealth of a nation wasn’t always a good marker for how well the conservation efforts for these migratory species may be carried out. Central American countries with low gross domestic product were found to meet targets for more than 75 per cent of their migratory species, but these same species have lower levels of protected area coverage in Canada and the United States.
